Sound and planning

[ricard]

I recently attended a lecture on Karl Brunner's planning schemes for Santiago and, during this lecture, it was stated that he was very interested the propagation of sound, as it related to the intensity of public life. I've been unable to reach the presenter and read his spanish text Manual de Urbanismo related to his work in Bogota, but, as of yet, haven't discovered any text or map that would demonstrate his attention to sound as an urban planning tool.

So, I'm hoping perhaps someone on this forum may have a lead? thanks in advance!

[Dan]

So, I'm hoping perhaps someone on this forum may have a lead? thanks in advance!

Perhaps Dan Hill at the excellent The City of Sound blog? Sound tended to be more of a theme in his earlier articles, but he's still probably the guy to contact.

[csld09]

Do you recall if "sound" was considered distinct from "noise?"

In any event, Kevin Lynch's "Notes of City Satisfactions" is a brief essay incorporating the value of sound to urban experience.

Interesting principles from http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item...10318&mode=toc w/r/t building science and the modulation of industrial-era sound.

For a more "naturalist" perspective, you might be interested in some John Fisher. http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/p...hils_alive.pdf.

Hope you find this helpful and interesting.

[ricard]

dan, thanks for the reference. I've seen his blog, but haven't looked at so many of his earlier articles so that might be helpful.

csld09: thanks for the links! yes, sound was considered distinct from noise as it served to support a type of social cohesion (from what i understood)... however, it didn't necessarily focus on the aesthetics/musical quality of sound (as an object of perception) similar to the work of R. Murray Schafer. Rather, perhaps an observation of sound as another way of observing activities/public life and how the sounds of particular activities influenced that of others. so, i'll try to get a hold of that essay by Lynch... sounds interesting - thanks!

[csld09]

I was poking around in the library today and came across The Art of City Making, by Charles Landry. Chapter 2, "The Sensory Landscape of Cities," addresses sound in a manner similar to Lynch's: anecdotal and narrative. Might also be worth checking out if you find the Lynch to be of interest, since about 40 years separates their respective publication dates!